It's You
by E. M. Zeray
Summary: Travis and Katie share secrets and insecurities one night by the lake. Major fluff.


**A/N: Okay, it's probably a little OOC, but I was really, really, REALLY tired when I got the idea and had to write it to make it go away! So, I just started high school today and already my homework load is frickin' ridiculous, so my updating schedule for my stories, "First," "In Fear and Love," "Celeste Jackson Chronicles," and "Double Date," will probably be Sundays because I have Saturday practice for band. Fun, right? Anyway, thanks for reading, please review, and hope you enjoy!**

As soon as Connor Stoll entered the room, he spotted a pretty little blonde with great hips and legs that went for miles. With a distracted wave at his brother, he walked deeper into the room and nearly laughed at the temperature change. Was it always like this at dances? The largest room in the whole camp—big enough to fit most of the people who were interested in dancing—was being used as the dance floor for Camp Half-Blood's Beginning of Summer dance. It being very casual and sort of sudden, the Stoll brothers hadn't asked dates. Connor was sure he'd find someone there and the only girl Travis had even considered asking was in a relationship.

Travis sighed as he leaned in the doorway. Why the Hades did he have to be in love with Katie Gardner? It was inconvenient, first of all. Besides that, as far as he knew, she still hated his guts.

He walked into the room for a moment and glanced around. With flashing lights it was hard to see people, but from what he could see, some of the dancers were certainly enjoying themselves. Still not feeling the excitement of the evening, he wandered outside. The light from the lamp post was yellowish, tainting everyone's skin. Tables of snack food were laid out for people along with drinks. About three seconds after he stepped onto the dirt, he heard a giggle and turned to see Annabeth Chase lightly swatting away her boyfriend's hand.

"Stop it, Seaweed Brain!"

Percy just chuckled grabbing her middle again, poking her a couple times. She screeched, laughing, and ran towards the building. Percy followed. Travis resisted the urge to roll his eyes. Percy and Annabeth had been spending every waking second together since Percy arrived at camp four days before. While the Aphrodite cabin gushed over them, saying that they were the greatest love story to ever occur at the camp, Travis didn't see much enjoyment in their relationship besides the fact that they were fun to tease and lock in closets together, although now they seemed to enjoy that…

Why did his love life have to be so complicated? All he wanted was the feisty brunette that seemed to haunt his thoughts every second. Was that so much to ask? Apparently so because Katie had been dating an Apollo boy three years her senior named Tyler ever since last summer. And needless to say, Travis hated his guts.

Tyler Burland was almost a foot taller than Katie, had big arms and muscles from monster slaying and football, and had sandy blonde hair that never fell in his perfectly brown eyes. He had a killer smile, wit as sharp as his knife, and was easily one of the best at Capture the Flag. But still, Tyler lived so far away from Katie that there was a little piece of Travis that hoped maybe their separation had done something to the relationship.

When he glanced back inside, he noticed his brother making out with the girl and snorted.

"Something funny?"

Travis turned around and nearly dropped his jaw. Was that—there was no way—wow. Katie Gardner was wearing…a dress. Kind of. Okay, well, it was a skirt with flowers all over it and a tank top tucked into it, but still… Wow.

"Hello?"

"Um—nothing." He blushed slightly but he doubted she could see it. "I'm just considering leaving. This seems kind of…boring, I guess. Connor's with some girl, anyway."

"Don't tell me the great Travis Stoll didn't get a date to the dance."

He shrugged.

As if sensing this was a sensitive subject, Katie nodded and glanced down. "Wanna go to the lake with me? I don't really wanna hang out here either."

Travis nodded and avoided getting too close to her as they turned and walked towards the lake. She stared straight ahead.

"How was your school year?" he asked.

"Boring."

"How's, um, that Tyler dude?"

Katie shrugged. "Tyler's fine, I guess. I wouldn't know. I haven't spoken to him since December when he broke up with me."

A glimmer of hope flashed in front of Travis but then was overcome with a different emotion. Some idiot had dumped Katie Gardner? Who did he think he was and why had he done it?

"Why?"

She shrugged again. "He's in college; he has different options; didn't wanna be stuck with some…" She paused, looking down at herself. "Well, me, I guess."

Travis shook his head. "What a jerk."

She was silent.

"Oh, I get it!" Travis shouted, laughing. "He's gay! Oh, that explains it!"

Katie cracked a smile but kept walking. Travis was still laughing when they reached the pier. They sat together, feet hanging over the edge.

"So…what about your girlfriend?"

Travis laughed. "Yeah, right. Not me."

"Who's the girl you like?"

He blinked a few times. "How do you know I like someone?"

"Feminine intuition."

"Just some girl." He smiled. "Well, no, not just some girl. Some really great girl. I just don't think she realizes it and I don't know if it's my place to tell her."

"Well there's no harm in telling her just as like, a friend."

Travis glanced at her. "Why did Tyler really break up with you?"

"How'd you know I was lying?"

"Lying is what I do."

Katie sighed. "He said I was in love with someone else. He accused me of only being with him to make this other boy jealous, and then I found out he was making out with someone from his dorm the day before he dumped me."

"So he_ is_ gay!"

"They're co-ed dorms, Travis."

"Sure, sure."

"I just…I guess I'm a little confused about the whole thing. Maybe I am in love with this other boy. But it just…it just sucks. I mean, come on. I'm…" Again, she looked down at herself. "I'm shapeless and I like crawling around in the dirt to plant stuff; I have dates with movies and books instead of going out to a party; who would ever think…?" She closed her eyes as her voice cracked on the last sentence. "Wow, I can't believe I'm telling you all this."

Travis didn't know what to say.

"I know that at camp we're all supposed to know that we have friends here. We have family here. But the boys won't give me a second glance and some of the girls are just…mean. Do you have any idea what it's like to be compared to an Aphrodite daughter? They become actresses and models and makeup artists. I'm gonna own some silly little flower shop and they'll be plastered over billboards with their perky boobs and perfect complexion." She picked at her skirt. "One of them convinced me to wear this tonight. It's not even mine and I hate it but they said it made me look…better."

"You look fine just the way you are," he whispered before he could stop himself. And once he had started, he couldn't stop. "Damn, Katie, don't listen to them. They don't matter if they're just gonna be mean."

"I know, but—"

"But nothing. Jeez, Katie, I didn't think you were the type of girl to let these things get to you."

She shrugged.

"Especially when they're such lies," he muttered. He wasn't sure if she heard him or not. "Shapeless? Hades, she's insane."

"Hmm?"

"Nothing," he said quickly.

"Tell me."

He rolled his eyes. "It's nothing."

"Stoll—"

"You're not shapeless, okay? You're…you're godsdamned beautiful." He blushed slightly.

Katie got this weird look on her face, like she half expected him to say "Just kidding!" or something. Then she looked confused and suddenly angry.

"Ugh, you're the worst person ever, Travis."

"What did I do?"

"You're being sarcastic. Ugh! I can't believe I was telling you all of that." She stood, beginning to walk away and Travis leaped up. "Don't you dare follow me. You've done enough."

"Katie! I wasn't—"

"I can't believe you! You would just listen to me tell you all this stuff and then be sarcastic about it! That's just low."

Travis grabbed her wrist and whirled her around, pulling her against his chest. They were standing in the middle of the pier, glaring at each other. "I wasn't being sarcastic. You'd know it if I was. Gods, Katie, can't you just take a compliment?"

"I'm sorry that you don't normally say nice things to me."

"Don't be like that." Katie opened her mouth again and Travis put his hand over it. "You're beautiful, Katie. You're frustrating and—for whatever insane reason—don't like pulling pranks and stealing food from the kitchens when you're training and miss dinner. You like reading and eating your vegetables. You go to a real school and are probably really smart. Those are all reasons for me to hate you, but every time I look at your eyes, or your lips, or your legs, or…you, in general, I forget. And I think about other things. You can fight me for hours and not back down. You're strong and unfairly talented in most things you do. And I can't stop thinking about you. Ever since you and that Tyler jerk got together, I've been wondering why I let you slip through my fingers without realizing how heartbreakingly wonderful you are and I don't care if you don't feel the same way because I've been waiting like 10 months to tell you that I've fallen so hard for some girl that hates my guts and even if she doesn't want me, she still has me." He dropped his hand. "I'm sorry. You just shouldn't think those things about yourself."

She was silent for a moment, her expression giving away nothing. Finally, she groaned. "You're infuriating, Travis Stoll."

"Yeah, yeah, I know. There's some other guy."

She ran a hand through her hair. "You moron."

"Okay, you can stop insulting me now that I bared my soul to you."

She smacked him.

"Hey! Stop it! I'm sorry, okay?" He groaned. "Scratch that. I'm not sorry. Dammit, Katie, I like you too much for my own good but I'm not gonna feel sorry about it! I'm not ashamed. Tyler was a jerk and you deserve better. "

"Why do you get a say in what I deserve?"

"Fine—just forget it." He began to walk away from her and she grabbed his arm.

"Tyler was right. I'm in love with someone else."

"I don't wanna hear about him."

"Are you sure? Because he's charming and funny, even if he can sometimes be a complete pain. He likes to flip his hair and every time he does it's adorably innocent that he doesn't even realize how hot it is. He uses cheesy lines around me all the time and even though he's just kidding, I think it's romantic and frustratingly cute. He's taller than me—not by much but enough that his chin rests on my head. He has the most incredible eyes. He has big hands, strong arms, an ego the size of Olympus, but lips that are just begging to by kissed and broad shoulders."

Travis closed his eyes. "That's great. I'm happy for you."

"He's not really one for rules but it doesn't really bother me as much as it should. I can tell he's not as bad as people think he is. In fact he's really sweet."

Travis almost felt like he should have been happy for her. But hatred and jealousy boiled inside him. He had just told her how he felt about her and there she was bragging about another guy.

"He's handsome. And I think he knows it, but I can't decide whether or not that's a problem."

He didn't even realize he had clenched his hands into fists before his fingers ached.

"And, gods, he's so ripped—"

That was it. That was it. Travis was better than this guy. Travis was worlds better. What did this idiot have that Travis didn't? In fact, he bet he was a better kisser than Katie's mystery crush. Fueled by jealousy and anger, Travis grabbed her, wrapping his arms around her middle and pulling her to him securely. Without waiting for a response, he kissed her passionately. He let out a nearly silent groan as her warm, perfect, soft lips met his. After a short hesitation, her arms wrapped around his shoulders and she kissed him back.

Much too soon they needed to breathe again and Katie pulled away, still holding onto him. Travis rested his forehead against hers.

"Wow, you're really jealous," she whispered.

Travis didn't even know how to answer. He pulled his arms back, hurt and confusion settling inside of him. "I'll see you tomorrow, Katie."

"Travis, you don't get it, do you?"

"Obviously not." He glanced at her lips. They were red and kiss-swollen.

"He's you, you moron!" She yanked him down by his shirt, kissing him again. Katie twisted her fingers in his hair and he held her so close to him that he lifted her off the ground. And they didn't look up for a really, really long time. Long enough in fact for a certain son of Poseidon to pop out of the lake with his girlfriend and gape at the unsuspecting couple.

"Well it's about time," Annabeth muttered.

"What? I thought she hated him."

Annabeth curled her fingers tighter around his. "There's a fine line between love and hate, Seaweed Brain."

"So when you say you hate me after I beat you at Capture the Flag you actually mean you love me and you're glad I won?"

She smirked and leaned in closer, brushing her nose against his. Right when it looked like she was about to kiss him, she whispered, "The line isn't _that _fine."

**A/N: Yeah, definitely a bit of OOC-ness in there. Sigh…forgive me? So, shout outs to homies! CapN' Cupcake, as always, is still the #1 Tratie writer, so go over to her page and just read, read, read! Thanks to so many people for the amazing PMs and reviews I've been getting! was so awesome telling me how much they loved my stories, and so many others that I will eventually list, I promise! But anyway, you know who you are and thank you! Please review! I might still have major clean up to do on this but I'm so totally exhausted right now, if I read it again, my head will explode, so you guys tell me what was wrong, etc and I'll fix it up and get it re-uploaded or something!**

**Love always,**

**E. M. Zeray**


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